Eric Ries presents a cycle of building, measuring and learning, using a minimum viable product to test assumptions. It earns second for giving new founders a framework to examine uncertainty before committing to a larger product.
It beats #3 when demand is still unknown, but loses to #1 on simplicity: useful conversations can start before a prototype. A test needs a question and a meaningful observation, not merely a cheap launch. Prefer it to our winner if you already understand the customer problem and need to organise product experiments.
Source: The Lean Startup · Photo: kawanet · CC BY 2.0. Resized/recompressed; source license retained.
